Relates to allowing judges more options for when to impose bail or commit the principal to the custody of the sheriff

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Republican3

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Anthony H. Palumbo says this is needed

Burglary in the second degree and robbery in the second degree are both classified as class c felonies, punishable by a maximum of fifteen years in a state prison. The maximum period of incarceration for which a defendant may serve if convicted should serve as an indicator for how the Legislature viewed the impact that these two serious felonies have on society. Although some may claim that these two crimes are not neces- sarily violent, both crimes as defined in criminal procedure law are so potentially threatening and harmful to victim(s) that each crime argu- ably borders on violence and should be treated as so. This bill would treat each of these two offenses consistent with all other violent felo- ny offenses under penal law section 70.02 that are to be considered as a qualifying offense for which a judge is afforded the option to fix cash bail or to remand a defendant to the custody of a sheriff. According to the NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services, there were 30,999 burglaries and 18,176 robberies reported to law enforcement in 2018 alone. These are not just merely statistics, but each burglary or robbery represents a person(s) whose life was impacted by inherently violent crimes. New Yorkers should not live in fear of burglars and robbers being out on the streets because the judge's hands are tied. Therefore, it is imperative that judges have the ability to remand defendants accused of burglary in the second degree or robbery in the second degree into the custody of the sheriff while awaiting trial should they believe it appropriate. In addition, judges must be provided the option to fix cash bail or remand to the custody of the sheriff, those defendants accused of crimes involving death or serious physical injury to a victim(s). Under cpl that went into effect January 1, 2020, judges are denied the ability to remand defendants into custody that have allegedly committed crimes that harm or involve the death of at least one victim. As a result, judges presiding over such serious cases must have the ability to uphold public safety and to ensure that allegedly violent defendants are not out on the streets where they are free to reoffend. Establishing defendants to walk the streets freely pending trial for such serious crimes will not only lead to more New Yorkers fearing for their safety but ay also encourage non-compliance with court appearances for defendants that are not constrained by cash bail and that face the possibility of long pris- on sentences. A small number of states have chosen to or have considered doing away with pretrial cash bail in recent years. The state of California elimi- nated cash bail related to most criminal offenses in 2018. Yet Califor- nia also promoted safeguards to accompany bail reform aimed at protect- ing the public including an optional risk assessment algorithm utilized in determining bail for some criminal defendants and allocated greater funding for electronic monitoring (ankle bracelets) of some defendants pending trial. Although these safeguards remain somewhat controversial, they indicate the California Legislature took steps to protect its resi- dents. Unfortunately, similar steps to promote public safety were not taken by the New York Legislature when bail reform was passed in the FY 2019-20 state budget. Sadly, many New Yorkers believe the recent reforms to our system of cash bail were reckless, rushed and are not dangerous to the safety and well- being of our state's residents. The New York State legislature has the opportunity to rectify this apparent lack of foresight with the passage of this bill that will allow judges to fix cash bail involving the death or serious physical injury of a victim.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.